Illegal HIV kits on sale in the U.K.

In the U.K., as with many other countries, it is illegal to sell HIV home testing kits that offer on-the-spot results. However, a report has shown that many such kits are in fact on sale.

Under the U.K.'s HIV Testing Kits and Services Regulations 1992 it is illegal to sell products which offer on-the-spot HIV results in the UK. However, the BBC investigative program 'You and Yours' has reported that HIV home testing kits widely available online, including kits being sold via Britain's biggest online retailer Amazon.

The kits sold by Amazon were supplied by a Canadian company called Viaguard Accu-Metrics and cost £60 (around $100).

The big risk is that such HIV products are untested, not approved by health authorities, and may give false results. In 2011 the Canadian health regulator ordered Toronto-based Viaguard Accu-Metrics to stop advertising or selling the kits in Canada.

Following the BBC report, Amazon has declared that all kits have been removed from its website.